AN: Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima!
Hope everyone is having a good Christmas season! This is my first (actual) Jerza (they've been mentioned in other fics) and the sixth ficlet of the advent calendar! Please enjoy! I wrote this after hearing my favourite Christmas song while out Christmas shopping (finally started!). The song is 'Christmas Wrapping' by The Waitresses so go check it out! ^_^
"Bah humbug..." Erza mumbled as she closed the door on the snow-filled street.
"What was that?" Her friend called as she came through from the bathroom.
"Oh, I just said 'bah humbug', but I don't really mean it." She sighed as the busty blonde frowned at her.
"I thought you loved Christmas?" Lucy mused, taking her friend's snow-dampened coat to hang up.
"I do." Erza replied with a soft, sad smile. "It's actually my favourite holiday. It's all about friends and family being together and having fun. It's a time of love."
"Very poetic, Erza." Lucy grinned, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "So why aren't you in the mood for your favourite holiday? Is it because of a certain someone not being around?"
"This year's just been a blur and I guess I really just don't have the energy." Erza speculated, ignoring her friend's teasing, as they made their way towards the sofa to watch their Christmas themed movie. "I don't think I'll bother with it this year. Gray and Juvia invited me to have dinner with them, but it's a long way to go to be a dampener on their Christmas."
"Well, come spend it with us – you know Natsu's going to practically set the place on fire again. We always have a great laugh, don't we?" Lucy coaxed, a smile lighting her face.
"We do," Erza nodded, returning her friend's smile, "but I think I'll leave the drunken cheers to you and Natsu this year. I will decorate my tree though – Mira's threatening to visit since she apparently knows what's wrong."
"Maybe you should call him?" Lucy shrugged as she picked up the bowl of popcorn and passed it to Erza. "He's probably spending Christmas alone too, right?"
"It's not like we know each other all that well, Lucy." Erza replied, shaking her head. "Last year at that ski shop was the first time I've seen him in years...I was surprised we still got along so well. We did exchange numbers, but we've just never really had the time."
"Well, invite him to ours for a couple of drinks! We'll all get together!" Lucy proposed with her brilliant smile.
"I don't think he'd come, Lucy." Erza sighed as she pulled the blanket over them and snuggled in. "Let's just watch our film."
"What makes you think he won't come?" Lucy frowned, snapping the remote control out of Erza's reach. "It certain looked like he liked you!"
"It just wouldn't work, Lucy." Erza stated, staring up at the TV screen pointedly. "Now, let's just laugh at a child tormenting two robbers, shall we?"
...
Erza shut her car door and crunched through the snow towards her front door. She had finally finished delivering all her Christmas presents and now she had to start getting ready for her own Christmas. She still was not in the mood for Christmas this year, even after weeks of her friends trying to get her into the Christmas spirit. This year, she just could not wait for winter to be over with. The snow was a constant hazard and the happy, smiling families just reminded her of what she was missing. She had her friends, but they were starting to get on with their lives. Gray and Juvia were having their first Christmas with their little girl. Natsu and Lucy were having their first Christmas living together. Mira was away visiting her brother and his family with her sister and their partners. She would go spend it with Gajeel and Levy, but they had such an intimate cuteness to their Christmases that Erza always felt that she was intruding, not to mention it would be their last Christmas alone; Baby Redfox was due in just a couple of months.
She walked in through her front door and closed it on the happy street outside. She just needed some quiet time to herself this year. Maybe next year would be better? This past year, her love-life had been a disaster. She smiled sadly down at her handbag as she shrugged her coat off, knowing his Christmas card was still inside it. How long had it been? Last year's group holiday had certainly made things interesting when it turned out that her childhood friend had just happened to be staying at the same ski resort for the exact same week as them. By the end of their holiday, they had been talking as if no time had passed at all.
Erza flicked her tree lights on and made her way through her living room using their glow to see. She collapsed onto the sofa and pulled her boots off. She grabbed her slice of cake out of a bag of shopping with a smile. The baker always kept a slice for her to collect when she went for her shopping. She took a bite and closed her eyes as she lay back against the sofa cushions. She was still owed a slice of cake, she remembered as she smiled sadly into the darkness. She had bumped into her old friend in the spring and they had decided to meet up for lunch with him promising to buy her a slice of cake. They never had managed to find a time when they were both free.
She sighed as she finished her cake. Next year would be better. She stood up and carried her shopping across to her kitchenette. Erza began pulling out her ingredients for her one-person Christmas dinner. She could easily believe she had managed to get her hands on the world's smallest turkey. It certainly could not feed two, so she could not invite him now. Maybe she should have? He had been the one to message her first after their failed lunch? He had actually offered to take her out on a boat trip last summer. She had been looking forward to it until she and her friends had gone to the beach. She had forgotten to top up her sun cream after being thrown into the sea by her friends.
She had not been able to walk for a week.
She smiled down at the carrots. Lucy had come to stay with her for that week and made various foods for her to eat using anything she could get her hands on. There had been quite a few carrots involved since Erza had just bought a large bag of them the day before. She had bought them to make a carrot cake to take with her on her little holiday with him, but she had not had the heart to tell her friend that. She still hoped that she could make a carrot cake for him at some point. In fact, she had been making a pumpkin pie last time he had messaged her. He had invited her out to a Halloween party and she had hung around all night waiting on him while her friends' had their own party. About ten, he messaged her to say that he just could not get his car started. If he had told her earlier, she could have picked him up. She did not know where he lived, but she could have asked. She ended up replying to tell him it was fine before walking over to Lucy and Natsu's flat.
She switched the kitchen light on and put her vegetables away. Her priority was to get the turkey ready, so she would do the vegetables fresh tomorrow. They were always nicer fresh anyway. She turned back to her turkey and sighed. The butcher had pre-stuffed it for her so she just needed to throw it in the oven. Next year she would make her own stuffing again; she just did not have the energy for it this year. She put the oven on to pre-heat and checked her phone. Just a few messages from her friends, mostly just checking that she had gotten home safe. She replied with fake enthusiasm and turned back to her oven. The temperature light was off and she shook her head – how long had she spent just replying? She popped the turkey into the oven and shuffled over to her sofa to watch a film.
Her phone vibrated in her pocket and she pulled it out, expecting a reply from one of her friends. She laughed, a smile lighting her face for a moment; he had text her to wish her a 'Merry Christmas'. Why could she never contact him first? She smiled softly down at the short message and decided that she would contact him next time to organise something. She quickly replied and pressed play on her remote, laughing at the characters' reactions as Death handed a child a real sword. She had been a child when she had first handled a sword!
She bolted upright as she realised she had fallen asleep. She could smell the turkey cooking and got up to check it. She opened the oven and carefully lifted the edge of the tin foil with the handle of a wooden spoon. It was definitely time to start letting it brown. She grabbed her oven glove and pulled the turkey out. She removed the foil and grinned at the juicy-looking turkey. She slipped it back into the oven and shut the door as she spun to look at the counter. She could just have a teaspoon of cran-
"The cranberry sauce!" Erza exclaimed in despair as she realised what was missing.
She looked out her window and groaned as a flurry of snow hit her window. She sighed, trudging over to her sofa to pull her boots back on. She reluctantly got back up to grab her coat and the keys to her flat. The twenty-four hour grocery at the end of her street would still be open since it was not quite midnight, when it would close until twelve in the afternoon on Boxing Day. She pulled on her coat and shuffled out the door to walk through the snow.
It did not take her long to get to the shop and out the chilling snow. She found her sauce quickly and hurried towards the till, ready to be back in her cosy home. She smiled at the Christmas hat that the man serving the person in front of her was wearing. She giggled as he rolled his eyes, returning her smile. She popped her sauce onto the conveyer belt and smiled up at the person in front of her who had turned to look at her. He was staring down at her in disbelief and she could not help returning the expression.
"H-Hey, h-how are you, Jellal?" She inquired, not bothering to try to hide her burning cheeks; she could just blame them on the cold.
"Fine, just spending this one alone," he replied, glancing down at his purchase, "needing a break...This year's been crazy."
"Me too." She smiled, their eyes finally meeting. "Why are you out at this time on Christmas Eve? I would-" She cut off and began to laugh as she saw what he was holding. "You mean you forgot cranberry sauce too?" She chuckled as she held up her own tub.
"Yeah." He laughed, shaking his head. "What were the chances?"
"Oh, I always for-" She began, cutting off as Lucy's words came into her head. "You know, I've been wondering for weeks if you would like to join me for Christmas dinner? I was planning to spend it alone, but maybe cranberry sauce was the chance we finally needed?" She mused, biting her lip as she smiled down at her hands. Her face darted up to look back at him, her skin crimson. "Only if you want to though!" She rushed as she realised how bold she had just been.
"I'd love to." He replied softly, his own cheeks an adorably rosy colour under his tufted cerulean hair.
She smiled back up at him shyly as she decided that a little touch of Christmas magic can give any tale a happy ending.